Tag Archives: Learning Disability

Reconnect Through Music – What a Day!

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We had an absolutely brilliant session yesterday, with an incredible 27 songs performed! 🎤💫 The energy was amazing from start to finish

It was so lovely to see Matilda again, who wowed us with songs from The Little Mermaid 🧜‍♀️ and K-Pop Demon Hunters 🎶🔥. Sean brought the vibes with Tears for Fears 🎹, while Susan had everyone singing along to Living Next Door to Alice 🚪🎵.

We loved the duet from Ffion & Amy singing Olly Murs 💕🎤, and Chris gave us a fantastic It’s Not Unusual 🕺. Anthony performed Hopelessly Devoted to You ❤️, and Christine got the whole room moving with Shut Up and Dance 💃🕺 (and yes… many people DID dance!).

A huge thank you to everyone who shared their amazing talents 🌟👏 — you made the session so special. The hall was packed (big thanks to Pete for setting everything up 🙌), and the delicious pizza 🍕 prepared by Christy & Zoe was a big hit!

💬 Feedback from the group:
Cheryl enjoyed meeting friends 🤝😊
Paula loved singing and chatting 🎶💬
Anthony said he loves everyone and that he’s a karaoke legend! 🎤👑

Thank you all for making it such a joyful and memorable day! 🎉🎶💖

Democracy & Voting Workshop

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A big THANK YOU to Gerraint and Simon from Learning Disability Wales for delivering a fantastic workshop yesterday! 🙌 With the Senedd elections coming up on May 7th 2026, it was the perfect time to learn all about democracy and voting. We had great fun using the pop-up voting station 🗳

👉 Different ways to vote:
In person at a polling station 🏫
By post 📮
By proxy (someone you trust votes for you) 👥

👉 How to register to vote:
You can register online 🌐
You need your details (like National Insurance number)
Make sure you register before the deadline ⏰

👉 How to find your constituency in Caerphilly borough:
Visit the UK Government website 🔍
Enter your postcode 📍
It tells you where you vote and who represents you

We also got creative making our democracy paper chain ⛓️💡We shared ideas about what we want to see changed and improved in our communities! Why voting is important:

It gives you a voice 🗣️
It helps shape your future 🌍
Everyone’s vote matters ❤️

Our members really enjoyed this fun and informative session 😄 We learned so much and had a great time together! 👏 Thanks again to Gerraint and Simon for making it so engaging!

Reconnect through Cookery 🍝❤️

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What a lovely session we had on Friday!! We made a delicious spaghetti Bolognese served with warm garlic bread, topped off with a sprinkle of cheddar 🧀✨ Our members got hands-on preparing fresh ingredients like celery, carrots, mushrooms, and onions 🥕🍄🧅—and it tasted amazing! We also sang Happy Birthday to our wonderful volunteer Anthony 🎂🥳 who recently celebrated his birthday—enjoy your cake, lovely man! 💛

A huge thank you to all our wonderful volunteers for your support today 💛 Special thanks to Sian for helping out and bringing the fun with bingo 🎉 and to Sarah for being our brilliant quiz master 🧠👏 It was so lovely seeing everyone enjoying themselves, sharing laughs, and sitting down together for lunch 😊🍽️ We’ll see you Wednesday for music! 🎶💃🕺

🍽️✨ Reconnect through Cookery ✨🍽️

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What a lovely session we had on Friday! 💛 We made a delicious tuna pasta bake 🐟🍝 and a tasty sausage pasta bake 🌭🍝, served with warm garlic bread 🧄🍞😋 Our members got hands-on preparing a fresh, healthy salad 🥗 with lettuce 🥬, tomatoes 🍅, onions 🧅, and peppers 🫑 — it looked as good as it tasted! 👩‍🍳👨‍🍳

The room was filled with a relaxed, happy vibe 😊✨ Everyone was in great spirits, enjoying themselves and each other’s company 💛🤗 It really was a warm, friendly atmosphere all around 🥰🌟 A big thank you to all our amazing volunteers 🙌💙 for your support — we couldn’t do it without you 👏✨

🎶✨ Reconnect Through Music – Great Vibes! ✨🎶

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What an incredible session we had today! 🌟 This morning, our group absolutely smashed our previous record by singing an amazing 31 songs 🎤🎉 — what a milestone! We enjoyed a fantastic mix of music spanning decades and genres 🎵🕺, showing just how diverse and vibrant our group is. Some standout moments included:

🌈 Ffion and Amy bringing fun and energy with The Gummy Bear Song 🐻🎶
🎭 Tilly with two songs by Panic! at the Disco 🎤🔥
💖 Morgan serenading us with Mandy
🌟 Mandy delivering a beautiful rendition of Against All Odds by Phil Collins
💃 Anthony filling the room with joy through Love Is in the Air (and it truly was! ❤️)
🎩 Chris entertaining us with Leave Your Hat On
🎧 Dennis getting everyone moving with Dance Monkey 🕺🎶

The atmosphere was absolutely lush 🌿💫 — full of smiles 😊, laughter 😂, and brilliant dancing 💃🕺. It was wonderful to see everyone so engaged and enjoying themselves! A big thank you goes out to:

👏 Pete for getting everything set up
🍽️ Christy, Zoe, and Cheryl for preparing a delicious lunch
🎶 Amy and Ffion for keeping the music flowing smoothly

We’re already looking forward to the next session… can we beat our record again and hit 32 songs? 🎯🎤 See you all next time! 💛🎶

🌟🧘‍♀️ Stretch, Connect & Belong 🧘‍♂️🌟

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Our brand new Stretch, Connect & Belong project started yesterday at Fleur-de-lis Community Centre and will run for 10 sessions every Tuesday from 1pm–2pm, followed by 30 minutes for a cuppa ☕, a chat 💬 and session feedback 📝 — a lovely chance to connect and build friendships.

Our first session began with calming breathing and stretching exercises 🌬️💚, followed by lots of fun as our members chose a yoga pose from the surprise bag 🎁🧘. There were plenty of smiles and laughter 😊. Some members used mats, while others chose to use a chair — showing these sessions are truly accessible and inclusive for all ♿💙. For our breathing exercises we used beautiful chiffon scarves 🌈, and we finished with a peaceful relaxation session to soothing music 🎶✨ under soft ceiling lights, leaving everyone feeling calm, refreshed and uplifted.

Sessions like this are so important for people with learning disabilities because they help to:

💚 reduce anxiety and stress
💚 improve movement, balance and flexibility
💚 build confidence and independence
💚 encourage social connection and friendships
💚 reduce isolation and loneliness
💚 support emotional wellbeing and mindfulness
💚 create a safe, welcoming space where everyone belongs 🤝

A huge thank you to Lisa Harwood 💐 for such a wonderful start to our project, and thank you to our amazing members and volunteers for bringing such positive energy — everyone absolutely loved it! 🌟💖 Here’s to the next session! 🧘☕💬

Gardening at TARAGGAN

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🌱☀️ Another fantastic session at TARAGGAN Educational gardens this week! We planted courgettes, lettuce, and carrots 🥕🥬 Everyone also worked really hard doing more weeding and helping to keep the garden looking beautiful 🌼👏

It was lovely to be outdoors enjoying the fresh air and sunshine while working together 🌞💚 Our members absolutely love these sessions and always enjoy getting involved, learning new skills, and spending time with friends 😊🌿 A big well done to everyone for all their hard work! 💪🌱

Yoga with Lisa

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We had another lovely afternoon with Lisa doing yoga yesterday 🧘‍♀️✨ We used yoga blocks for stretching, balance and posture, and everyone chose a block out of the bag that had a yoga pose drawn on it 🟦🧘‍♂️ It was lots of fun and gave everyone a chance to try something different 😊

We also enjoyed some relaxing time listening to soothing music 🎶💜 Some members like to use chairs for the session while some choose to use the mats, making the sessions very accessible so everyone can take part comfortably 🌟

Everyone did an amazing job joining in and there was lots of laughter as usual 😂💛 These sessions are great for relaxation, movement, confidence and wellbeing, and it’s wonderful to see everyone supporting each other 🤝✨ See you all next week! 🥰👋

🎶✨ Reconnect Through Music – Today’s Session ✨🎶

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A huge thank you to everyone who attended another inspiring and joyful Reconnect Through Music session today! 💛 It was wonderful to see so much talent on show, along with plenty of smiles and laughter throughout the afternoon 😊🎤 Here are just a few of the highlights we enjoyed:

🎵 Ellysia kicked us off beautifully with Never Gonna Dance Again by Pink.
🎸 Sean had everyone rocking along as he told us to Walk This Way with the classic from Aerosmith.
💃 Christine got the whole room moving with 5,6,7,8 by Steps.
🌼 Adrian gave a heartfelt performance of Edelweiss from The Sound of Music.
🎶 Dennis closed out the performances with the powerful Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad by Meat Loaf.

It was fantastic to see so many people up dancing and enjoying themselves 🕺💃 — including Paula, who treated us to some of the yoga moves she learned yesterday! 🧘‍♀️✨ We also loved hearing everyone’s feedback about what makes these sessions so special ❤️

💬 Ellie shared that she loves dancing and meeting friends, and said the sessions are so good for bringing everyone together.
💬 Morgan said he enjoys socialising with friends and singing his favourite songs.
💬 Ellysia said she loves seeing everyone enjoying themselves.

A special thank you to Christy and Cheryl for keeping everyone well fed with delicious pizza 🍕😋, and of course to all our amazing volunteers and everyone who attends and helps make our music sessions so special each week ❤️🎶

University of South Wales Role Play

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Yesterday morning we visited the simulation suite at the University of South Wales to take part in patient role play scenarios 🏥😊 The student nurses did an amazing job and worked so hard throughout the sessions 👏💙 These training situations make a real difference, helping students experience what it can be like working on a busy ward under pressure while supporting patients with care and compassion 🌟

A huge well done to all our TRAC members for taking part and helping with the training today 🙌 You were all fantastic! 💛 This was session 1 of 2, and we’re looking forward to more training and teamwork in session 2! 😊✨